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THE FOLLOWING PAPER 
BY 

General Edward F. Jones 

Read at a meeting of the 
New York State Loyal Legion, 
Held at Deliironico's, 

Now Vork. May 3, 1J>11. 



Commander and Companions: 

My theme at this time is the Sixth Retriment of Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, 
which was t!ie first to offer its services and the first to respond to the call o( President 
Lincoln for soldiers in defence of the Union. 

Toe discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, the founding of the Colony at 
Jamestown, Va., the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, the battles of Concord, 
Lexington and Bunker Hill and the Declaration of Independence are momentous epochs iiv 
the history of the United States. 

At least of ei]ual importance is the f.imous march of the Sixth Mass. Regiment throupl; 
Baltimore on the H'th of April, 1801, and iis arrival on the same evening, at Washington, 
thus saving the Capital from falling inio the possession of the confederates. 

Its story cannot too ficeiuently be told. Its oft repetition is needed to indeliblv 
imprint upon the pages of history the record of the most important event of the civil war. 
What would be tliought of a history of the United States that omitted mention of Concord, 
Lexington and Bunker Hill 

At the November election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the 
United Slates. 

On the 7th of November the Legislature of South Carolina issued a call for a conven- 
tion, whicii, at Charleston on the '2t-th of December, passed an ordinance declaring Soutt 
Carolina to be an independent Commonwealth. 

On the 14lh of lanuary, 1861, General Butler, who was in command of the 3d Brigade 
Mass. Volunteer Militia, called upon Colonel Jones, commanding the Sixth keg.ment, and 
requested that he go with him to see Governor Andrew, remarking, "Andrew and I are not 
very good friends, and you may have more influence with him than I. I want to impres* 
upon him the necessity of having some troops ready to meet the emergencv which 1 know ?«■- 
coming. The South is attempting secession, and if the North is not ready they will get an 
advantage wiiich it will be difficult for us to overcome". 

They went to the State House and had a long conterence with Governor Andrew, at 
which time Colonel lones informally tendered tlie services of his reigment. 

On January 16th, General Order No. 4 was issued. 

"Headquarters, Boston Jan. 16, 1861. 
"General Order No. 4. 

"Events which have recently occurred, and are now in progress, require that Mass- 
achusetts should be at all times ready to furnish her quota of trooos upon any requisition of 
the President of the United States to aid in tlie maintenance of the laws and the peace o^ 
the Union 

His Excellencv, the Commander-in-Chief, therefore orders: 

That the commanding officer of each company of volunteer militia examine with care 
the roll of his comp.-my, cause the name of each member, together wuh his rank and piac<- 
of residence, to be properly recorded and a copy of the same to be forwarded to the office 
of the Adjutant General. Previous to which, commanders of companies sliall make strict 
inquiry whether there are men in their commands, who, from age, physical defect, busine?'. 
or family causes, mav be unable or indisposed to respond at once to the orders of th*' 
Commander-in-Chief made in response to the call of the President of the United States: 
that they be forthwith discharged, so that their places may be filled by men ready for ai.y 
public exigency which may anse, whenever called upon." 

On the 21st ofjanuary, a meeting of the commissioned officers of the rpciment M'.^s 
held at the American Hou^e, Lowell, at wliich, the situation of the country v./asfuliy ciscuss- 
ed and the folicwing resolut.on unanimously adopted: 

"Resolved. That Colonel Jones be authorized and requested, forthwith, to tender the 
services of the Sixth Regiment to the Commander-in-Chief and Legislature, when such 
service may become desirable, for the purpose scontemplated in General Order No. 4." 

On the 4th of March Abraham Lincoln was peacefully inaugurated President of the 
United States, although the entire South had threatened that this should never occur. 

The next important move in the scheme of secession was the firing upon Fort Sumpter 
on April 12th. 

On the 15th of April, 1861, President Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 men to rally in 
defence of the Union. The people were unwilling to believe in the possibility of secession, 



t^iinking that the overt acts were only blustering maneuvers on the part of the Soulh, and «Oi*u <i 
that the call lor troops vi^as ridiculously laige. Even Secretary of State Sewaid said that the 
trouble would be over in 90 days Governor Andrew of Massachusetts fully appreciated 
the situation and took measures at once to have in readiness the quota of that State. 

Immediately upon the publication of President Lincoln's proclamation, the commander 
of the Sixth Regiment went to the Slate House in Boston, and received from Adjutant- 
Ceneial Schoulei this memorandum order, which v/as hastily written, and alteiwatd du- 
plicated more formally. 

"'Headquarters, Boston, April 15, 1861. 
"Special Order No 14. 

"To Col Edward F. Jones. 

"Com. Sixth Regt. Infantry. 

"You are hereby ordered to muster the regiment 
under your command, in uniform, on Boston Common, forthwith, in compliance with a 

requisition made by the President of th ^ United States. The troops aie to go to 

Washington. 

By order of His Excellency John A Andrew, Governor and Commander-in Chief 

"WilHam Schouler, 

Adjutant-General " 

On the receipt of this order, at about 4 o'clock in the alternoon, Colonel Jones used the 
telegraph wires to the fullest possible extent, ordering his captains to assemble their com- 
panies at Huntington Hall, Lowell, the next morning at nine o'clock. Then going 1o 
Lowell, spent the entire night in lallying his command, which in many instances requited 
special messengers riding all night. Theie was haidly a member of the regiment who did 
not report for duty. 

Then it was that history repeated itself, for, like Paul Revere, on the 18th of April, 
1775, there were those who weie 

"Ready to ride and spread the alarm 
Through every Middlesex village and farm. 
For the country folk to be up and to arm " 

It was not a single horseman like Paul Revere who rode alone that night, but the 
telegraph, the locomotive and a score of special messengers "spread the alarm thiough every 
Middlesex village and farm," for 

"Through the gloom and the light 

The fate of a Nation was riding that night.'* 

The repetition of history did not end here, as men composing the legiment were to .n 
great extent descendants of those Revolutionary siies who, on the moining of Apiii. 19th 
1775, left their plows in the furiow, hastened home, took down their old flim lock muskets 
from the hooks on the chimney, grasped their powder horn and bullet pouch, and with a 
hasty good-bye, hurried away, many of them never to relurn 

In fact, one of the membeis of Co. E, lespcnding to President Lincoln's call, Luke 
Smith by name, was a son of one of those Revolutionary sires 

Tire scene at Huntington Hail, Lowell, where the legiment assembled, on the morning 
of the 16lh of April 1861, was one impossible to describe Befoie the oider "fjll in' was 
given, it was a motley assemblage of men in uniform, theit parents, wives, childien, sisteis, 
sweethearts, and a general public, massed to the extent of the entiie squaie, all with anx- 
ious faces and many tearful eyes It was touching to see the mmgled pnde and sonow in 
so many sweet faces No wonder that they were all anxious, foi they had but a vague 
conception of future probabilities 

"Fall in" was the order, and while a hasty inspection was being made, the band play- 
ed "The Girl I Left Behind Me " 

At twelve o'clock noon the regiment reported for duty on Boston Common, having 
been rallied fiom moie than twentv-five countty districts 

On the evening of the 17th tlie regiment left Boston for Washington. The transit 
through New England to New York, and thence to Philadelphia, was tiight and day one 
ijoritinous ovation 

Bonfire succeeded bonfire so closely that €ach might have almost ignited its follower 
leaving a trail of ashes two hundied miles in length. Peal rang fiom steeple to steeple, an 
unending chime, and the boom of cannon and the rattle of musketiy premonished the bat- 
tles real that were so soon to follow. 

At Pniladelphia it was rumoied that the regiment would not be permitted to maich 
peacefully through Baltimore. At Havre de Grace the tumor changed to a fact. It was to 
be attacked 

This led the Commander to pass thiough the train, and in the centie of each cai, to 
issue this order: 

"The regiment will m.-irch through Baltimore in column of sections, aims at v.'ill You 
will undoubtedly be insulted, abused, and peihaps assaulted, to which pay no legaid what- • 
ever; but march with your faces square to the front, and pay no attention to the mob, even 
though they thiow stones, bricks or other missiles; but if you aie fired upon, and anyone is 
hit, your officers will order you to fire. Do not fire into anv promiscuous crowds; but 
select any man whom you see aiming, and be sure you diop him." 

Twenty rounds of b ill cartridges weie issued to each man. 

The train reached Baltimore eariier than was expected, and without any notice of 
change of plan, an attempt was made to draw the cars through the city with horses, as was 
the practice at that time. 



The events of tliat day are familiar historical incidents; the bloody attack by a vicious 
mob, its repulse, the killing of four and the wounding of thirty-six comrades. 

Though many of the participr.nts are now living, after the lapse of half a century, we 
vainly search for the knowledge that will enable us to fitly honor the memory of Charles 
A. Taylor, the first wlio fell in the terrible conflict which continued for nearly five years, 
sacnficing a million lives and costing billions of treasure. 
^. Charles A Taylor was the first martyr who gave his life in defence of the Union. 

i»^ Dew on the blade of grass condenses into a drop and descends to the earth, forming 

(s^ the tiny beck, the head of the stream. So it was with Taylor's life current, it was the 
.^tiny beck, the head of the stream combined with thellow from the bodies of Needham, 
'-J Ladd and Whitney, formed the rill, which, swollen from the veins and arteries of his 30 
wounded comrades, made, figuratively speaking, the river of blood that flowed through our 
country, inciting every par not to fly to Ih.e rescue 

Governor Andrew telegraphed the Mayor of Baltimore, ' 'I pray you to cause the 
bodies of the Massachusetts soldiers, dead in Baltimore, to be immediately laid out and 
tenderly sent forward by express to me". In accordance v.'ith this dispatch, the bodies of 
Needham, Ladd and Whitney were tenderly cared for and returned to Boston. 

(^ At this point in the reading of the paper, the Rev. G. Tabor Thompson, D. D., ol 
Philadelphia, sang the following:) 

SEND THEM HOME TENDERLY. 



.>.> 



^:i 



(By H. A. Dobson ) 



Send them home tenderly: 

Guard them with care, 

Eager eyes tearfully, 

Watch for them there; 

Home hearts are mounifuUy 

Throbbing to know 

Gifted and manly sons, 

Stricken so low. 

Send them home tenderly: 

To the fair sod, 
First by the martyr-soul'd 

Puritans trod; 
Blue hills and ocean wave 

Echo the prayer, 
Send them home tenderly, 
Love waits them there. 



Send them home tenderly; 

Poor breathless clay; 

Yet, what high hopefulness 

Bore them away; 

Hand to h^nd clingingly, 

Linked in brave trust — 

Tenderly, tenderly 

Bear home their dust. 

Send them home tenderly: 

Think of the sire 

Struggling with mighty sobs 

By the low fiie; 

Think how a mother's heait 

Hourly hath bled; 

Tenderly, tenderly, 

Bear home her dead. 



The body of Charles A. Taylor was not in uniform and not recognized as a soldier. 
What became of it has for half a centui y been a matter of unconfirmed tradition His 
whole stoiy is a pathetic incident. As the regiment was leaving Boston, be, a stranger 
enlisted theiein. The regiment had been warned by General Order. Had tendered its 
services and were expectant of the call. Taylor was under no obligation be yond that of 
every patriotic citizen. 

From whence he came was unknown. Jn two short days he passd into eternity and 
oblivion, the first to fall. 

Who was Charles A. Taylor? The most strenuous efforts have failed to locate his rel- 
atives here, and an appeal into the realms of the wireless has been equally unsuccessful No 
response comes to the call, who was Charles A. Taylor. Is there no answering soul? Had 
he no lather or mother, brother, sister or sweetheatt, who to the call would answer, "he 
was mine?" It is indeed a sad, sad story. 

He was not the only one, for Needham, Lidd and Whitney quickly followed the path 
of death, ar.d thirty-six of his comiades were wounded, victims of a brutaiily seldom re- 
corded. 

During the half century since the de.^th of Taylor, from time to time, desultory efforts 
have been mndc to trace his body to its final resting place, but not until within the last 
twelvemonths lias the matter been syytematicaily and persistently pursued. It might 
almost be said that every person now living m Baltimore who had personal knowledge of 
the tragedy of the 19th of April, 1831, has been seaiched out and cross examined, with the 
result that the fact is est;iblished that Taylor s body was tliiown into the canal, taken there- 
from by a loyal dtizen by the name of Levin Gorsuch, and buried in his private lot in the 
now abandoned cemetery at Eai.t Baltimore. At the head of his grave v/as placed a board 
containing the legend, "Killed in the Riot, April 19, 18ol " Gorsuch was very proud of 
having performed this patriotic act, and during his lifelin-e decorated the grave on 
Memorial Day. In the abandonment of the cemetery as a burial place, the e.xact location 
of Taylors grave has been lost. 

It has often been asked, rellccting on the conduct, aye, and the courage of the com- 
mander of the Sixth Viassachusetts Regiment, why retribution did not follow at once. 

Colonel Jones who stood on the rear platform of the train, facing acres of raving maniacs 
whose bodies wedged the car, knew no fear, for he was unconscious of danger A ruffian 
who mounted the steps, brandishing a revolver in his face, seeing that he aroused no in- 
terest, slunk back into the crowd. Why? Why did he not. fire ? A Providence beyond 
our comprehension controlled. 



The commander was thinking, not ot himselt, but how coufd he meet the responsi'bi[- 
ity of the moment. He was conironted by the greatest problem of his life. What oueht 
he to do? What could he do? 

The blood of his dead and wounded comrades appealed for revenpie. The taurjts and 
sneers of the mad mob goaded him, and every instinct of manhood urged him, to deal fear- 
ful ven;^eance But his orders were to "get to Washington as quickly as possible." He *lid 
not dare to consult his officers, for he knew that they and the men we're eager for retribution. 
At this critical moment a telegram was handed hinr Ironi General Scott. It was brief. 
"Let nothing delay you." 

A soldier's duty is to obey orders. 

Tliis necessity which brooked no denial forced a departure from the scene of the bloody 
conflict, leavmg iheir dead. 

After anxious hours, momentarily fearing disaster, the regiment reached Washington. As 
the commander stepped from the train he was met by President Lincoln, who eagerly 
grasped his hand and said "Thank God, you are here. If you had not arrived to-night, we 
should have been in the hands of the rebels before morning " 

, It was related that hours before the regiment s arrival, President Lincoln had been 
walking his chamber, repeating, "Why don't they come? Why don't they come? Will 
they never come?" 

Let us consider these events, more important than has generally been acknowledged, 
from the fact that they were so quickly followed by others apparently of greater magnitude. 

The crack of the rifles at Baltimore was drowned by the artillery at Bull Run. 

Tile 724 men who headed the column in defence of the Union were lost in the count 
of the million who followed so soon. 

The shots that were fired and the blood that was shed in the streets of Baltimore on 
that eventful dsy, did more for the c3U.-e 01 free government than any previous event in 
the w o. Id's history. '■ 

The blood of the martyrs was indeed the <eed of the church. 

Was it an anniversary echo of the shot th.\t was heard 'round the world ? 

Tnis piorteer regiment was for the time being forgotten, which is not surprising, as the 
tide ot ever> ts rolled in so rapidly. Billow rose upon billow, and unjike the waves of the 
sea, did not recede. Hundreds of thousands of comrades marched ovf.r the bocies of these 
brave dead, grind'ng them into the dust of forget fulness. 

History fails to recognize the emergent services that the Sixth .V.assachusetts Regiment 
rendered to its country. 

Companions, have you ever given a mornpnt's thought to the change in the situation 
had not the Sixth MassatUusetts Regiment jea^hed Washington on the evening of the 
lyth of April. 1861. 

President Lincoln said "We should have been in the hands of the rebels before morn- 
ing." 

That meant the President of the United States and his Cabinet slain or hostsges in the 
hands of tLe enemy. 

That meant the capital of our countn- in the posse.ssion of the confedera'ces, who 
would have received prompt recognition from European governments which w'ere only 
waiting tor an excuse. 

Companions, th)s meant the glorious old stars and stripes, flag ot our Union, hauled 
down, trodden under toot, and floating in its place the starsand bars of the confederacy, 
tainting the pure breezes of liberty. 

That meant the State ol Maryland seceded from the Union ; the early battles of the war 
Jought north instead of south ot the i'otomac; the battle of Bull Run, with all its misfor- 
tunes many times multiplied, fought on Pennsylvania soil; Piiiiadelphia and New York 
attacked, if not captured, and the ultimate result, a divided country, with ail of the misery 
that the triumph of the confederacy would have entailed, a continuous conflict along Mason 
and IJixon 5 line, and the perpetuation of that curse, human slaveiy. 

The histori, ins of the great civil war have not accorded to the Sixth Massachusetts 
Regiment the credit to which it is entitled. 

The importance of its service cannot be magnified. It should not be under rated 
That the success of the march saved the capital, no one can gainsay. That it preserved 
the Union is equally true 

Companions, a half century has passed since the first blood of the civil war was shed 
in defence of the Union. 

Most of those who touched elbows in that fatal march have been mustered cut ot 
service here. 

The right wing of the regiment is marking time in the great beyond, waiting tor the 
rear of the column to close up. 

They will not have to wait long, tor we are on the double quick. 

Therefore, Companions, it behooves each of us waiting detail to make the most of our 
opportunities in fraternity, charity and loyality. 

Companions, have I claimed too much for the old Sixth Massachusetts? 



Hearty response from the Commandry of "No" 



'No" 



'No" 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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013 703 385 9 



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pH8.5 

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




013 703 385 9 



HoUinger 

pH8.5 

Mill Run F3-1955 



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